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ABOUT

I’m Olivia, writer behind this blog! I'm a SIMPLE living girl from Texas who enjoys sharing my life with others! I'm married to my best friend, Ryan, whose ideas and advice are behind most of the financial posts on this blog! We have two boys, Beckham and Maddox, who have blessed us beyond belief! I cannot share enough about them. Click HERE and HERE to read some interesting facts about me.

I was born and raised in Texas. Met Ryan when I was in high school; he was out of college. I’ve technically known him since I was born (he was 8)…my mom and his dad were in a band together. His parents threw a baby shower for my parents. We went to the same church (and high school), but never really knew each other because of the age difference. We dated throughout college. He proposed by buying us a house (pic below) for when we would eventually marry (he revealed it at the end of a scavenger hunt). We married 8 months later in August 2007. Shortly after that, I got a teaching job three minutes from our house. I taught 2nd for half a year and 3rd grade for four years (I'm a SAHM now and I also have an Etsy shop). Ryan’s also a teacher…a 9th grade math teacher. He’s also a college basketball official. He’s the hardest working man I know.

During our time of DINKhood (Double Income No Kids), we decided we wanted to pay off our house debt, so I could stay home when we decided to have kids. We had a 15 year note and had the mindset to pay it off in 7-8 years by doubling our payments. We were making good money with two incomes and kept throwing more money at it, seeing that it could be paid off sooner than later. We kept a tight budget, but rewarded ourselves with trips and nights out when we planned for it. 33 MONTHS after Ryan bought the house, it was paid off!!! I was 24 when we paid it off! It just got so addicting and cool to see what our life would be like without a mortgage. We had two years without a mortgage before we had Beckham. Ryan bought his dream car (a Corvette) and we saved as well in case this one income thing was harder than we thought. Now that we’re on one income, we live similar to before when we were paying off the house, because a lot of that now goes to retirement (and children sure do incur a lot of expenses). I was/am constantly being asked for advice about budgeting, so I decided to start sharing tips we used while paying it off - everything from dining out to the all important budget! We follow many of Dave Ramsey's tips as you will read in this blog. We have definitely been blessed by God and work hard to please Him with the money He's given us. I really have to give God 100% of the credit – He gives and takes away! Click HERE for more about how we did it.

This blog is a culmination of my family (pregnancy, baby, and life now), personal financial tips, recipes (I love cooking), and creative projects or ideas I happen to do! Basically, all things Snyder! Most things are categorized for easy browsing or you can click the labels on the side or use the search box. I hope you enjoy reading it and I love hearing from readers, so give me a shout!

Myself in a nutshell: I was raised with two sisters and one brother (and my niece for a lot of that time at home) by my wonderful parents who have been married 40 years. I'm the middle child (second oldest). I accepted Christ as a little girl...I've been raised in the church and currently go to one of the best churches in the world. Grew up playing soccer every free second I had. I was blessed to receive a scholarship to play at SMU (Southern Methodist). Soccer is a HUGE part of my life. I love the game. I graduated with a marketing degree and a teaching certificate (I know random, but I wasn't sure at 18 years old). Married that summer after college. Student taught that Fall. And by the grace of God, found a mid-year teaching job 3 minutes from my house as a 2nd grade teacher (taught 3rd every year after that). I had Beckham 4 years after we married and decided to be a full time mama (after I finished the school year). A year and a half later, I decided to start a small business, Joyful Art Designs, selling digital designs. That has been a huge blessing. And then a year after that, we welcomed our second boy, Maddox Cade. It's been really crazy since then and I'm currently trying to find balance if that's even possible.

5 comments:

Hey Olivia! I found your blog via Pinterest and I am in love with it! Usually all blogs are the same but yours is realistic, which I love! I also live in McKinney so I love that I can experience the places you recommend.

I just found your blog via Elise @ Cheers Y'all! I loooove this!! How awesome for you & your husband that y'all paid off your house!! My husband & I have a goal to be debt free by the end of this year. I think we'll be just shy of it but, just the thought of being debt free is a little unreal! HA! Exciting to see others doing it too! I'm a fellow Texan as well! Can't wait to get to "know" you better!

Hi Olivia! I found your blog today via pinterest while looking for tips on first time home buying. My boyfriend and I are "DINKS" and I can't wait to share all the great advice you have on here with him! Thank you sharing, I'm definitely a new follower. :)